Management Practices

Four big bad sales myths of 2018

January 12, 2018

My experience with a particularly friendly wolf, Micah, got me thinking about how, in sales, we sometimes constrain ourselves with limiting beliefs, or myths, and the New Year is the perfect time to debunk these falsities and rethink how you are going to approach sales in 2018.

Reinvigorate leadership with this out-of-the-box question

December 8, 2017
Although the spirited year-end holidays are long gone, I’m still hearing a festive jingle … except, this time the sound is coming from my dog’s tags. Eager myself for the mental exercise of calmly planning the upcoming workday, we step out into the early-morning world.

Does this shirt make me look unmotivated?

October 20, 2017
Q: When we’re up against a crunch deadline, our CEO tries to bolster our confidence by giving us a T-shirt with “YGT” on it. It stands for “You Got This.” I don’t need to be told I can tackle a tough challenge. I do need better support—more resources, more time, more cooperation from the CEO. Can I rip up my shirt?

Don’t let bigwig use personality test as an excuse

September 20, 2017
Q. I work closely with the owner of a consulting firm. He’ll only let people ask a question, not explain what’s going on. He says that’s just his personality (he says he’s a “D” and an “I”) and his style is normal for his personality type. It’s driving me crazy. What good is it to have me here if I can’t provide information on the status of projects or situations?

Startup fever: Undone by ambition?

September 18, 2017
A recent spate of trouble for high-profile startups may have the business world rethinking Silicon Valley’s magic.

To win customer loyalty, get your eyes checked

July 27, 2017
Improving the customer experience, says Jay Forte, consultant and president of The Greatness Zone, starts with understanding the importance of noticing: aggressively examining the little things that are working and the things that are not.

What do you really know about your customers?

July 5, 2017

Knowing which customers are spending more or less is the ultimate metric for tracking and analyzing performance. Understanding customers starts with collecting data, and then translating data into insights to be more relevant—and loyal to—your customers. Ask yourself and your leadership team these questions.

Bringing CEO pay back to earth

June 14, 2017
A better future for America includes a retooling of the CEO pay machine that now includes salary, stock, options, “non-equity incentives” and other perks—in other words, a machine out of sync with employee compensation.

A real nice problem to have

June 6, 2017
What keeps Elon Musk up at night is not futuristic at all. It’s the overstuffed parking lot outside his office window.

3 rules make the company endure

March 6, 2017
A great company needs to be stellar but it also must hang in the heavens long enough to prove it’s more than a comet.